The release schedule is like a chess game these days. The Weinstein Company just pushed “August: Osage County” off Christmas Day and moved it to December 27th. Smart move. “AOC” is a superb dramedy that might not have been the best choice for December 25th — as Harvey Weinstein noted at the premiere last week in New York, the Westins are a little like the Borgias.

More than a dozen films are opening on Christmas Day and “AOC” doesn’t need to be in that mix. The main players that Wednesday will be “Wolf of Wall Street,” “Anchorman 2,” “Walter Mitty,” and “Grudge Match.” When “AOC” comes on Friday, it will have only “Labor Day” (sort of a write off at this point) and “Lone Survivor” as competition.

Last night the “AOC” crowd had their L.A. premiere, where Meryl Streep starred on the red carpet. She and Julia Roberts lit up the night. “AOC” is the Best Ensemble movie of the year, frankly. Watch it translate its SAG nominations into Oscar noms. This not a chick flick, by the way. Someone asked me that the other day. The men– Chris Cooper, Sam Shepard, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dermot Mulroney, Ewan McGregor– are just as strong as the women.

Author

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.